Installing Fiberglass quarter panels

T

tubbshs

Member
Due to two reckless drivers on the first lap of the race in St. Louis I had a little contact with the tire wall on my maiden voyage with my F/P car. I had to replace the left rear quarter panel, left door and fender plus the lower A arm. I purchased fiberglass body parts and I am now getting ready to install these.
My question is how far back should I cut the metal away from the rear tire wall. I think I should mark the edges of the fender where you attach the fender with pop rivets and then move down 3 inches and mark a parallel line and cut the metal there. My concern is will this large of a cut in the metal reduce the torsion strength in any way?

thanks in advance for you input.
 
what car? Personally, I would cut as little as possible when replacing a rear quarter panel. Cut out the damage, and go from there.
 
If replacing the rear fender flare and cutting the exterior fender skin, you will not be affecting the torsional strength of the chassis. Cutting the roll cage and chassis structure will reduce the chassis torsional strength. The remains of the steel fender still maintains some contact with the chassis, where it contributes some strength.

A thought for petty pondering: if you remove a small strip of fender metal, will the car be faster because of the reduced weight? Or, will it be slower because of reduced torsional strength? Will you be able to measure the change in performance between the two options?
The simple answer is ... you will be faster with wider tires under the wider fender flares.

Cutting to your 3" margin is all you need. I prefer to remove as much metal as possible from under the fiberglass flare. Minimize any potential for exposed metal edging that could contact your tire during your next "nudge".

Now that you have bent your baby for the first time, you will be free to go faster. It's not new anymore...
 
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